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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pound — a weight
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. staff — a stick
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cue — for pool
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — a song
  19. staff — employees
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com